Team Sky principal Brailsford – who can speak Welsh thanks to his upbringing in Deiniolen, near Caernarfon – appeared as himself on the BBC show. He was special guest at the opening of the soap’s fictional sports shop.

Brailsford, 51, gave a speech to the residents of Cwmderi, the fictional village in which the soap is set, where he likened the community to his own real-life one in Deiniolen.

The episode is available to watch on BBC iPlayer – Brailsford appears around 10:30 into the show.

Although born in Derbyshire, Brailsford moved to Wales as a child. Brailsford later moved to France, where he rode on a French team as an amateur, before moving back to Britain.

Brailsford joined British Cycling in 1997, becoming performance director in 2003 and went on to head up Team Sky when it formed in 2010.Brailsford’s forward-thinking ‘marginal gains’ approach to cycling […]